Duquesne

Elite Eight: A March Interview Series

 

2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship
Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.

Wednesday, March 11
Game 1 - #8 La Salle vs. #9 Saint Louis - 12:00
Game 2 - #5 Saint Joseph's vs. #12 Charlotte - 2:30
Game 3 - #7 Duquesne vs. #10 Massachusetts - 6:30
Game 4 - #6 Richmond vs. #11 St. Bonaventure - 9:00

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne senior guard Aaron Jackson (Hartford, Conn./Worcester (Mass.) Academy) earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors for a school record fourth time this season and freshman guard Eric Evans (Detroit, Mich./Northwestern) was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the fourth time following wins at La Salle and at Massachusetts this past week.

Rob Carpentier's "Seven Day Stretch" is a whirlwind tour around every corner of college basketball nation:

 

Seven Day Savior (Team): Duquesne Dukes

Kevin McNeill's weekly 5 Things column breaks down what's important in the world of college basketball.

 

This week, we learned that...

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 

Tony Gaffney (Sr.), Massachusetts.  While others may have scored more points, no player helped his team any greater on both ends of the floor than did Gaffney.  For the week, Gaffney averaged a double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds per game), and also intimidated opponents by swatting away five shots per outing, including a nine block effort against Boston College.  A model of efficiency on the offensive end as well, the senior shot 67% in UMass’ two close defeats.

1.) Dayton is leading the conference in turnover margin.  An important development for the Flyers, who finished the 2007-08 campaign tenth in the A-10.  This season, UD is plus 4.83 in that department.

2.) The name Brian Conklin.  For those not dialed in on Billiken hoops, the 6-foot-6 freshman is getting better with each game (10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds) and has been a model of efficiency for a newcomer.  Conklin is averaging an incredible 1.96 points per shot; shooting better from the field (73%) than the stripe (72%).

 

PITTSBURGH – Duquesne University head men’s basketball coach Ron Everhart has announced the signing of combo guard Johnny Higgins (Baltimore, Md./Randallstown/Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep) to a National Letter of Intent.

The 6-1, 185-pound Higgins is the first fall signee for the 2008-09 recruiting class.